lunes, 30 de enero de 2012

Some applications of supercomputers

With the help of supercomputers, scientists now can study a wide variety of complex problems. Supercomputers have a lot of applications almost in any area:

Computer modeling and simulation

One of the applications is related to computer modeling and simulation. It can be used to speed up extremely slow processes in order to predict problems. Supercomputers can also help in molecular dynamics simulations.

NASA uses supercomputers to perform simulations:

A team of modeling and simulation experts in the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) Division is performing advanced aerodynamic simulations that supply critical design performance data more efficiently and accurately than ever before. Using NASA-developed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes and supercomputers at the NAS facility, the team is modeling new launch vehicle designs and computing the detailed aerodynamic flows, forces, and interactions that could affect flight performance and safety during launch (1)

Weather forecasting

They can also be useful in weather forecasting, in order to understand the internal conditions that bring about severe weather phenomena.

Also researchers may use them to conduct real-time weather predictions and it can make weather modeling more accurate.

Environmental Studies

It can also be helpful to improve the realism of environmental models. A supercomputer can also help to investigate the behaviour of things that might be too small to examine by any physical means, scientists can also use it to make three dimensional models of chemical compounds or microscopical living things.

Cloud Computing

Amazon has one of the world’s fastest supercomputers, but it’s in the cloud, it is not stored in the way other supercomputers are in a huge room filled with processors and storage. It may not replace the original supercomputers because its performance is not the same and it is slower but it is a very good option for some researchers.

As I said before, supercomputers can also perform many other tasks that can help scientists' investigations easier and may contribute to the evolution of science and technology advances